


Unapologetically Selfish

by SouthernCross



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, I swear, Infinity Stone Soul World (Marvel), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), So this is what happens when you spend an afternoon on the marvel wiki, i adore darcy lewis, sam and wanda are bff's, soul stone collects people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 15:33:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18252725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthernCross/pseuds/SouthernCross
Summary: Some days, today apparently, he was a little lost, a little quiet.  It tugged at everything in her.  She knew that he had been through like the worst hell imaginable and now he was here in Orange-land and there was nothing she could really do to make it better, but she was damn sure going to try.





	Unapologetically Selfish

Darcy had never really believed that there was a hell.  A part of her had wanted there to be one, a place where the bad people went and like drowned in a burning lake or whatever.  Yeah, once upon a time she had wished there was a hell [(especially for that asshole Rick who had clearly heard her say no but had clearly chosen to ignore it) (And maybe for the security officer on campus who had not even bothered to take notes when she had reported it)].

 

For a time, after Thor and Puente, she had maybe had a crisis of faith.  Erik had shared with her all the old stories, she had stayed up late for four nights and absorbed as much Norse mythology as she could.  It hadn’t really helped. Hel was real, but it was a realm and she had not been very clear if it was for everyone or just like not Midgardians.

 

Then London had happened and there had been no time for an existential crisis.  There was a real crisis she needed to be worrying about. SHIELD had swooped in after the skies had stopped raining elves and offered Jane, well they had offered her anything and everything she wanted.  By that point they had realized they were maybe a little bit over their heads what with all the _alien invasions_.  

 

Jane had put up a token protest but after an unexpected Skype call from the goddess on high Pepper Potts [(Darcy had totally eavesdropped on that call and maybe stuck her head in for a wave) (Pepper freaking Potts)] who had assured Jane that Stark industries was working closely with SHIELD on all Avengers related business.  So were their highly paid and highly trained lawyers and she had assured Jane that all her work would be safe from the jack booted thugs.

 

Okay so Pepper hadn’t said that exactly but whatever she had said had convinced Jane that they would be better off than they had been.  When Jane had insisted that Erik and Darcy come along there had been tears. The screams had come when Jane had insisted that Culver come thru with Darcy’s degree.  They had been holding out on since all their work had been redacted in Puente, the six science credits had been a bust as had Darcy’s graduation (If her student debt had also magically disappeared she was certainly not going to complain).

 

Upstate New York, while a step up from New Mexico, would not had been her first choice to settle down in.  Darcy had liked bouncing around Europe chasing signs and signals. She had never dreamed she would ever that many stamps in her passport, but she knew that there was _data_ that needed to be compiled and analyzed.  Tons and tons of data. So trees and rolling hills of green it was.

 

Not that the place wasn’t seriously swanky, Stark knew how to set up a facility.  Jane had more toys than even she knew what to do with and when Erik was in residence his eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.  Darcy could appreciate the shiny, she certainly didn’t miss the solder burns or the electrical tape getting stuck in her hair, but what she lived for was the rent free suite with never ending hot water and a kitchen that was always full.  Yeah, she could get used to grass and shit if it meant never having to run a vacuum again.

 

Now that there were real interns who could actually understand more than 2% of what Jane was saying Darcy had floundered at first with what her actual role was on their team.  Well she floundered for like five minutes because barrelling through any and all obstacles was a Darcy Lewis specialty. She had started with the data, organizing and assigning brains to sort through Puente, London and New York.  There was also a monitor set up for anything that could be potentially of interest, she liked going over those reports the best. Weird shit was happening all over their little realm and Darcy had not for the first wondered if it would have been better if they had not attracted any attention in the first place.

 

Darcy had managed the data, fielded calls coming in for Jane.  Funny how so many institutions and publications were eager to collaborate and print on work a year ago they had laughed at.  Yeah Darcy really enjoyed taking those calls. Eventually she had taken over some of the managing in the other labs, the big brains were great with the ideas and the whole world saving but not so good on the everyday details.  Given that she had the clearance, talent and first hand experience in the _weird_ , she was running the entire department before she even remembered agreeing to it.

 

When she finally took the time to look at her paycheck she had almost missed the chair, she had never seen that much money in her account before.  So yeah, things were going pretty awesome.

 

Then Sokovia happened.  

 

She had watched the city rise and fall with most of Jane’s lab, her wrist bruising where Jane had clutched at it.  Whatever had transpired between her friend and the thunder god had fizzled out but they were all still friends and to be honest Darcy had been more than a little worried that the team wouldn’t pull it off.

 

The complex had the big shiny A on the outside but that didn’t mean she was best buddies with the supers.  No, she stuck to her levels and they stuck to theirs. Darcy had run into Bruce a few times, his lab was up on Tony’s level, but he frequented the other sciences enough that their paths had crossed.  

 

After, when she had taken refuge in her shower, she had cried for the soft spoken man.  Not for the first time she cursed how unfair life could be.

 

Life also moved on.

 

One rainy afternoon Darcy had met a quiet woman, around her age, with long, auburn hair and the saddest eyes she had ever seen.  They had talked about the book Darcy had been carrying and Darcy had wished that she had gotten her name, wished that she could have done more to chase away the sad.   Finding out later that the sad eyes had belonged to Wanda Maximoff Darcy had doubted even she could have made a dent in the burden the other woman carried.

 

The Accords went live and Darcy had spent hours ranting over the illegality of them to anyone who would listen.  

 

Then bombs went off in Vienna and she realized that what was happening was so beyond a simple question of Constitutional legality.  

 

Darcy never did get the whole story but one day the A on the front of the building had been replaced with an S and nobody quite knew what to do or say about that.   Work continued without the supers who had taken up the upper levels but the feeling that they were all working together towards something bigger than them was gone.

 

Life still went on.  

 

There was even more data.

 

The calls and emails never stopped coming in.

 

Darcy persevered.

 

Thoughts of hell and heaven and what came after hardly crossed her mind.

 

Lunch that last day had been noodles and sushi and the cream cheese rangoons that she adored.  Jane had been filling her in one the insane new readings she was getting out of Wakanda.

 

That had been one phone call that Darcy had never expected to get.  Apparently the Princess of Wakanda, please call me Shuri, was a genius and a fangirl for Jane Foster.  Darcy had had a hard time keeping up with Shuri’s enthusiastic ramblings, the girl spoke _fast_ , but Darcy had asked FRIDAY to transfer the call to Jane’s lab.  FRIDAY had gone a step further and patched it in as a video conference. Darcy was pretty sure Shuri had squealed at her first look in the lab.

 

That had been a good day.  Jane had been surprised but enthusiastic about finding a kindred spirit.  Darcy might have had a degree in political science but she knew that women were severely underrepresented in STEM fields.  The new collaboration between the Foster lab and _the Kingdom of Wakanda_ had taken the data exchange and input to a whole new level.

 

Just that morning Darcy had finally convinced Jane to do one interview and she had counted that as a major victory.

 

Then the screaming started.

 

One hand on her taser and the other on Jane’s wrist they were halfway to the safe room when she felt the tugging in her gut.  Stumbling, Jane ran into her back as Darcy felt _it_ , there was still screaming, she thought maybe it was her or Jane but then she looked down at the hand gripping the taser turn to ash.

 

Jane was screaming and the last thing Darcy felt was her best friend wrap her arms around her from behind and then there was nothing.

  


* * *

 

 

And then there was something.

 

Darcy blinked once, then twice, and yeah this was not some place she had ever been.  

 

The sky above her was orange.  

 

Closing her eyes she wiggled her toes and fisted her hands.  She remembered the strange feeling and the screaming and then her hand turning to _ash_.  That had happened, whatever was happening now took a back seat to the fact that she had turned to dust.

 

Jane.

 

Opening her eyes, the sky was still that eerie orange, she sat up and found herself alone.

 

She was completely alone and not wearing the clothes that she had been wearing when _things had happened_.  

 

Later she would admit that the ensuing freakout was entirely justified all things considered.  She had seen some shit, had lived through some crazy things, but this, this was just a level of fail that she could not comprehend.

 

After her tears had stopped and she had finally stopped feeling like she was going to throw up she stood up on shaky legs.  The soft grey pants and long sleeve top were not something she owned or anyone on Earth had probably owned. The material practically shimmered when she ran her hand over the sleeve.  Nice clothes or not she was not cool with the costume change.

 

Whoever or whatever had not seen fit to give her back her phone, not that she thought that she would get a signal wherever the hell this place was, but having something familiar right now would be nice.  Even better than her phone would have been her taser.

 

She thought about calling out for help, then just as quickly dismissed the idea.  Being alone sucked but it was better than getting the wrong kind of attention. Darcy didn’t do stealth.  She was not light on her feet. She was handy with a taser, which she didn’t have, and knew basic self-defense, but not any kind of skill that would translate into surviving in this landscape, she was screwed.

 

As quietly and carefully as she could she moved through the underbrush.  The plants and trees were recognizable as plants and trees and they were thankfully in shades of colors that were normally found on those items, but they were definitely not any kind of flora she had ever seen on Earth.  

 

Jane would no doubt be taking samples and making observations.  All Darcy’s brain could manage was a distracting rant on why she was wearing glasses but the frames were none she had ever worn before.  Not for the first time she wished she had been more science minded. Not for the first time she wished she had some more survival training.  

 

Maybe she walked for an hour, maybe it was longer.  The sense of time passing was distorted here. She was not getting tired, strange considering she wasn’t in the best of shape, there was nothing prompting her that she needed to pee or get a drink or that she was hot or cold.  She simply was and it was beyond weird.

 

The longer she walked the more frustrated she grew.  Her careful steps turned to stomps. Her controlled breathing turned to muttering under her breath.

 

Maybe it would be better to be found out, even by an unfriendly, she was nearly to the point that anything would be better than the never ending forest.

 

Taking a step, after muttering her complaint aloud, her environment abruptly changed.  Gone were the trees and spread out before her were slopes of pale yellow grass.

 

‘Ugh.’

 

Contrasting with the orange sky Darcy blinked away the discomfort of the landscape.  It was like walking into a painting. She was not a fan and cursed herself for complaining about the forest.  Turning back, thoughts of backtracking to where she had woken up, her jaw dropped when she found not trees as she was expecting but wide, open space.

 

‘Of course.’

 

She really should have known better.  At a loss for what to do now, she simply sat down in place, drawing her knees up to her chest she pulled off her glasses and rubbed at her eyes.   Being dead was becoming increasingly annoying, she supposed she was in some sort of hell, she didn’t think heaven would annoy its residents so much.

 

The problem was she didn’t feel dead.  Not that she knew what it would actually feel like to be dead, but she had assumed her physical form would be gone and there would be just like an essence of herself like floating around heaven (fingers crossed).  She had not considered the possibility that her afterlife would be like walking through an acid trip.

 

Whoever or whatever had attacked the lab, death hadn’t erased the echoes of the screaming, could be the architect behind this trippy afterlife.  That idea really sucked and she really needed to stop psyching herself out.

 

Sitting there for an indeterminate amount of time, she couldn’t say she slept, but she certainly drifted.  The silence was beyond oppressive. No rustle of wind in the grass, no chirping of insects, no planes in the sky.  She focused on the sounds of her breathing and tried not to wonder if she actually needed to breath or was simply doing it out of habit.

 

This couldn’t be it, this couldn’t be how she spent her afterlife, she refused to accept that.

 

Standing she rolled her shoulders and put her glasses back on.  She hadn’t taken more than two steps in the direction she had been previously heading when she heard it.

 

Voices.  

 

One male and one female.

 

Turning in a circle Darcy couldn’t see anyone, but to her left there was a small rise, high enough that she couldn’t see the horizon beyond it.  That had to be where it was coming from. Unless the voices were in her head but she refused to believe that.

 

Ignoring the actual voice in her head that she should proceed with caution she started running.

 

The shout came out automatically.

 

‘Hey.  I hear you!  Please be real and please be friendly.’

 

Nearing the base of the rise, which up close was more of a hill than she had realized, she looked up just in time to see a man and a woman appear at the top.

 

‘Please don’t be evil.’

 

Honestly at that point Darcy wasn’t sure she would care if the strangers were evil, she was done with being alone.

 

‘I told you she was around here.’

 

The woman’s voice was dry, no hint that she might be intending harm and Darcy scrambled up the hill.  

 

‘Yeah, yeah I should never have doubted you, blah blah blah.  Rub it in.’

 

Closer now Darcy saw that they were both dressed in the grey outfits that she wore, but his sleeves were short.

 

Whatever the woman said in return was lost to Darcy as she tripped over her own feet and nearly face planted.  Catching herself just before she hit the ground she looked up to see a hand extending to her and she took it gratefully.

 

‘Thanks.’

 

The man attached to the hand smiled wide and there was something nagging at the back of Darcy’s brain, like she knew him, or had seen him before but she couldn’t remember where.

 

‘Hello again Darcy Lewis.’

 

Startled at hearing her name Darcy peered over the man’s shoulder at the woman approaching them.

 

‘Oh my God.  Wanda?’

 

Darcy had needed a minute to wrap her brain around everything.  Okay she had needed more than a minute but she was pretty sure she had handled things as well as one could expect.

 

Looking at Wanda and Sam, how she had not recognized _the Falcon_ when she first laid eyes on him she was solely blaming on dying.  Or not dying. She was still not clear about that.

 

‘Okay let me see if I have this right.  Some guy named Thanos collected all the Infinity stones.  The Infinity Stones are like immensely powerful. They are the things that messed up Erik and Jane and nearly destroyed New York.’

 

Sam nodded.

 

‘You guys all Avenger assembled but couldn’t beat him because he’s like invincible now that he has all the stones together in one place.  Then he what, wiped out half the universe, just because.’

 

‘I believe there was a snapping of the fingers.’  Darcy could only gape at Wanda.

 

‘Right, of course there was because why not.’

 

Hands balling into fists she pressed them against her thighs, she would not freak out, she would not.

 

‘But the snapping thing didn’t actually kill everyone, just moved them here.’  She waved a hand around. ‘Wherever this is.’

 

‘The soul stone.’  Sam helpfully provided.

 

She did not appreciate the cheeky grin.  ‘The soul stone, okay, so half the universe is in here.  Where the hell is everyone?’

 

Darcy wished she had never asked.  ‘Okay, okay, stop.’ The two bickered over an explanation, arguing over someone named Strange and Parker, and their conflicting theories.  

 

‘I’m just saying, Strange is a doctor, a real doctor and Parker doesn’t even have his driver's license yet.’

 

Wanda only shrugged, ‘Age is no indicator of intelligence.’

 

Agreeing with Wanda silently, she knew better than to take sides, she crossed her arms and looked around at the unending yellow.

 

Half the universe, she could hardly wrap her brain around it, her friends, _her family_.  Admittedly they weren’t close, but that didn’t mean she wanted them dusted.  Best not to think too hard on that, Darcy could compartmentalize like a boss.  

 

Focusing on now and here and not then and there would be smart, hard but smart.

 

‘Were you looking for me or was this random?’

 

And Darcy had foolishly thought what she had been through since waking up was weird.  She was going to have to seriously redefine what that word meant after this. Wanda [(who she had known had had powers) (duh she was an Avenger and Darcy totally followed all their tags on tumblr)] had figured out soon after waking up that she was still connected to those that she had known before.  

 

_Everyone she had known before_.

 

And then she had just sort of started collecting them.  Wanda hadn’t bothered with the how and Darcy was grateful for it.

 

‘So because we had that one conversation you were able to feel me here?  But if my high school English teacher were here you wouldn’t know?’

 

Wanda considered and gave her a slow nod.

 

‘Do you feel the people that aren’t here.’

 

Darcy winced as soon as the words left her mouth, ‘I’m sorry that’s really none of my business.’

 

‘It’s okay.  Before, there was a connection to every person I encountered however brief, the better I knew them the stronger the connection.  I also felt a connection to those I lost Before _._ ’

 

Having read about the loss of her brother Darcy felt even more like a jerk for asking.

 

‘Now I feel only those that are in the soul stone and the ones from those I lost Before.  And while I mourn the loss of the connection to those left behind I am glad for their absence, I am glad they live.’

 

Maybe one day she would be as magnanimous when handed such a rotten burden to bear, Darcy in no way envied the other woman.  She couldn’t help but wonder about Jane, wonder if her path had ever crossed with Wanda and how insensitive it would be to ask Wanda about her.

 

‘I did in fact know your Jane Foster, she was kind and brilliant, and no I do not feel her anymore.’

 

There might have been a few, a lot of tears but Darcy honestly didn’t care.  In a day full of bad she would take the good news any way she could.

 

‘I apologize.’  Darcy wiped her eyes and looked at Wanda.  ‘I did not mean to read your thoughts but you were thinking loudly and sometimes it is unavoidable.’

 

Darcy gave her a wet laugh, ‘It is 100% okay.  I’ll take a little mind reading if it means I finally get some good news.’

 

Sam snorted at that.  And she supposed finding out they were only kind of dead could be considered good news, but she was too emotionally drained to give that thought its proper consideration.

 

‘Any chance the people left behind are going to get us out of here?’

 

The look Sam gave her was serious, but there was enough hope in is eyes that the knot in her stomach started to unravel.  ‘That’s what we’re counting on.’

 

* * *

  


Whatever she was expecting when Sam and Wanda took her back to their, base camp Sam had helpfully provided, once again she was surprised.

 

Thankfully the grass was in the green family and there were some of the strange looking trees she had seen earlier.  Running parallel to the tree line was a slow moving river of what could only be described as some sort of magenta liquid, it had the consistency of mercury.  Darcy wondered if it was as dangerous.

 

She still murmed that it was beautiful under her breath because it was, the whole eerie landscape was beautiful in its own unfamiliar way.  

 

‘We’ve got some structures up, Strange is good at making something out of nothing.’  There were indeed several small huts that she could see through the trees. They had chosen the site well.  There was the rocky outcropping from a mountain to the East of the settlement, the River bordered its South, trees to the West, and if they headed North they would walk down a gentle slope giving them the natural high ground.

 

Darcy wasn’t sure if the decision had been automatic given how many Avengers were among the group or if they were expecting trouble in here.  EIther way she felt more secure.

 

‘How long have you guys been,’ she struggled for the word, ‘Awake?’

 

‘Now that’s a loaded question.’  Of course it was, she really wished she could fast forward past the information dumps and get to the part where it’s all revealed and she could process all of it.

 

‘Nevermind then.  I mean I feel like I just woke up this morning but then I walked forever in the forest before it turned into puke grass so it might have been hours or a couple of days and I still don’t feel like I need to eat or pee and it’s weird and I think I’ve had enough weird for right now.’

 

By the end of her rant Wanda and Sam were staring at her.  Wanda was looking at her, head tilted in consideration, Sam was fighting back a laugh.  What even was her life (death) anymore.

 

‘Mr. Sam!’

 

There was a full body wince and Sam turned towards to voice.  ‘Here we go.’

 

A boy, Darcy would guess he was 16 or 17, was jogging over towards them.  They had attracted the attention of the rest of the inhabitants and those who weren’t making their way over were openly staring.

 

‘Parker what did I tell you about the yelling and-’

 

‘-Right yes I’m sorry you told me no yelling just in case there was something unfriendly but Doctor Strange has put some kind of warning barrier up around us, even though I really don’t think there is going to be any trouble.  I mean if you think about what the soul stone is and what its properties are, filling up with combative souls would in no way be conducive to its collection.’

 

‘Kid we have no way of knowing what the intentions of a sentient Infinity Stone could possibly be.  It’s been around since time began or whatever, maybe it’s looking for a little chaos and carnage.’

 

The kid, Parker, stopped fidgeting and seemed to be considering Sam’s words carefully.

 

‘I never thought about that  Do you really think it wants us to fight each other?’

 

‘I don’t know and I don’t really want to find out so why don’t we curb the yelling for now.’

 

‘Yes sir, of course sir, sorry sir.’  Then his attention turned to Darcy and he beamed.  ‘Hi, I’m Peter Parker.’

 

She shook the hand he offered.  ‘You might know me by my superhero name.’  Superheroes were kids now, God she felt old.  ‘I’m Spider-Man.’

 

Eyebrow creeping up into her hairline she let his hand enthusiastically shake hers.  ‘Darcy Lewis.’

 

There had been a Spider-Man all over social media, stopping purse snatchers and finding lost dogs.  She could hardly believe it was a kid, she could hardly believe he had gotten himself mixed up in the Avengers.

 

‘It’s nice to meet you.’  Retrieving her hand they ambled towards the oncoming group, led by another ridiculously good looking man.  Was her afterlife really going to be filled with good-looking superheroes?

 

‘Hello, I am T’Challa.  Welcome.

 

Jesus Christ, good-looking superheroes and the freaking King of Wakanda.

 

‘Hi, hello, I’m, I am, uh, Darcy.  Lewis. Darcy Lewis.’

 

So she was star struck, sue her, he was a king.  A king with warm eyes and a big smile that put her at ease.

 

‘Welcome Miss Lewis.’

 

Yeah no, ‘Just Darcy, please.’  Much better.

 

Once she got over her initial shock she was able to see the man behind T’Challa practically radiating with the same energy that Peter had and a tree.  Like an honest to goodness smiling tree.

 

She smiled back automatically and when it waved at her how could she not wave back.

 

Peter, another Peter (not the teenager but the teenager in a man’s admittedly nice body), shook her hand a little too profusely and asked her if she had seen a ‘badass warrior woman with green skin.’  There had been such an earnest expression on his face that she had felt terrible telling him that she hadn’t seen anyone before Sam and Wanda.

 

‘I am Groot.’  Probably the coolest introduction she had ever been a part of.  As a group they head down towards the village was the closest thing she could come to describing it, trying to take in everything around her was difficult, she had a Peter to her right _and_ to her left and they were peppering her with questions.

 

‘Enough you two,’ Sam interjected, ‘We will do the whole backstory thing once everyone is together.’

 

Both Peter’s opened their mouth to protest or plead, but all it took was one raised eyebrow from T’Challa and they both quieted down.  They drifted off ahead of the group bickering with each other, Groot following behind interjecting with an ‘I am Groot’ when their voices rose.

 

‘They look like a handful.’

 

Sam snorted, ‘You have no idea.’

 

After meeting the rest of their merry band of misfits Darcy introduced herself properly, glancing once at Wanda who gave her a small nod, described how she had met Wanda and what she did at the labs.

 

At the mention of the word lab she noted a late arrival visibly tensed.  He had shown up after the group introductions but had been there to catch her name.  She wouldn’t have minded catching his name.

 

The boy was pretty, like take a second and third glance pretty, beards and man buns had never really been her thing but damn she might have to rethink that.  She was glad to see that the tension melted somewhat out of him after she explained that she only managed the science, nothing hands on though.

 

There was a story there, with him, and there was something nagging at the back of her head, he looked familiar.

 

Before she could think on it further there were questions being tossed at her and she didn’t see when he slipped away.

 

The Doctor, please call me Stephen, had promised to get her accomodations set up as soon as possible, PeterParker (she really needed a better way to differentiate other than mashing first and last name together) had gone trotting along shooting questions at the older man faster than Darcy could process.  Darcy was beyond grateful that she was not bunking up with anyone, she could absolutely use a little alone time.

 

Sam and Wanda wandered off, in search of Shuri, whom Darcy was eager to meet.   Wanda wanting to do some more exploring, and Darcy had called out another thanks before they were out of earshot.  Looking around she wondered what everyone did with all their time.

 

‘So is everyone always this calm or is it just for my benefit?’

 

T’Challa chuckled softly.  ‘It does appear that way does it not?’

 

Darcy knew she should be freaking out more, they were essentially trapped wherever the hell they were for as long as it would take people out there to get them out.  She should be panicking, she knew Before she would have been. Trapped was not one of the things she handled well.

 

‘I mean yeah, there is a decided lack of freakouts.’  She absolutely did not like that, it felt way too Miranda for her.  

 

T’Challa looked at her questioningly, not catching the reference, so Darcy did one of the things she did best and summarised one of the greatest sci-fi series of her generation in under five minutes

 

‘King or not if you come at me like a Reaver I’m going to go all RIver on you, Shiny?’

 

This time his laughter was loud and full and Darcy smiled back feeling better.

 

* * *

 

Darcy’s little hut was simple but oh so precious to her.  The doctor had fashioned everyone with a basic one room structure with a cot and a small table with two chairs.   A wooden 3 fold screen hid a small clawfoot tub. She could admit she had freaked out just a little bit when she turned the single handle and the water had simply flowed out of the faucet, heated and scented.  Nevermind there were no pipes attached to the tub and they had found no water other than the Mercury river.

 

God, she really loved magic.

 

There was blank paper and pencils stacked neatly on top of the table.  She had started a journal and even tried her hand at creative writing. Her phone and the distractions it provided were a loss she felt keenly and she really missed Netflix.  There was just so much time to do nothing.

 

Thankfully the doctor had also come up with some sort of magic clock that kept standard hours so everyone would have some idea of the start and stop of days and could coordinate times for outings and meetings.  The simple clock hung on the wall over her bed and the ticking of the minute hand had become a steady companion.

 

Their little village had grown slowly after her arrival.  The connections Wanda could feel had only been faint at best after finding Darcy.  Admittedly Wanda was not the most social of people and the few Wakandans she had met during her brief stay there had been welcomed with open arms by T’Challa.  Darcy knew there were some Sokovians that Wanda had found but she didn’t like to talk about her life growing up, so they kept to themselves.

 

Everyone had agreed that any of the connections that Wanda had made while she had been Hydra’s prisoner should be ignored.  

 

Wanda wasn’t the only one in their group who could feel the others.  Mantis had also been able to hone in on her team, the Guardians of the Galaxy as PeterQuill had been proud to announce, and it was Mantis who was looking for Gamora.  PeterQuill hadn’t given up on finding her, no one had after they had heard what had happened. Now that Wanda had brought back everyone she could find, she spent most of her time with Mantis, working together they hoped to find Gamora.

 

Darcy still found it strange that she didn’t need to eat.  She missed food, she missed eating, she missed _coffee._  She had had more than one bitch fest with Sam over the loss of coffee.  

 

Thankfully while she didn’t need sleep, she could.  

 

No one knew quite how that worked, the Doctor and PeterParker (who she had been unsurprised was a genius) had theories, oh boy did they have theories.  More than once she had been suckered in to play referee, they still did not differentiate between scientist and science manager.

 

Unfortunately they were all still dressed in grey.  No matter what the Doc tried he couldn’t get clothes to manifest, much to his frustrated and vocal effort.  He kept ranting about his cape. Darcy wasn’t sure if that was a euphemism or if he had actually had a cape, a la Thor.

 

Darcy had found one pastime that more than made up for the endless hours of nothing.

 

Training.  Now Darcy would be the first one to admit that she was not the biggest fan of exercise.  She had done some yoga and had gone to exactly one spin class, but other than that she had not been a very enthusiastic gym person.  And she had never, ever been into running.

 

With a cup size like hers, running was at the very bottom of athletic activities.  Thankfully whatever had stuck them here had outfitted her with the most amazing bra she had ever had.  Maximum support, soft fabric, utilitarian in design (no lace cutouts) but the straps never needed to be adjusted and she had never thought she could get the support without an underwire and a bralette.  She would be loathe to get rid of it if, when, they got out of here.

 

Now Darcy, armed with extraterrestrial support, was all about the training.  Sure it was cool that she could run a mile and not collapse and the hand to hand combat she was learning from the Wakandan warriors was badass, it was not the source of her enjoyment and distraction.

 

No, that was all because of him.  Mr. Beard and Man Bun. The history nerd in her had done a happy dance when she had learned that he was none other than Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, best friend of Captain America himself.  She knew she had recognized him, that jawline had done things to her in AP US History her senior year of high school.

 

Sam had pulled her aside after the revelation and quickly and quietly filled her in on his missing years.  To say he had gotten the shittiest of shitty deals was putting it mildly. ‘I want to throat punch every fucker who played a part.’  Sam had chuckled, predicting the two of them would get along great, she had blushed immediately and smacked his shoulder.

 

Weapons training was where he held court.  The Doc had not been able to create guns, but they all agreed that they needed some kind of defense system.  PeterParker had come up with the idea of medieval weapons. Their training sessions looked like something out of A Knight’s Tale.

 

The Doc had managed to produce a wide variety of weapons, when the first sword had manifest in front of the assembly T’Challa had picked it up, amazed at the craftsmanship and shocked to discover it was made of Vibranium.  Their arsenal was probably worth more than most countries entire defense budget, combined. All came out perfectly balanced, all made of VIbranium.

 

Sergeant Barnes, ‘Please call me James,’ had apparently been well versed in all kinds of weapons, up to and including swords and battle axes and maces.  T’Challa had done some fencing in his youth and PeterParker had apparently gone through a LARP phase. She had laughed out loud when he mentioned it, unfortunately no one else had understood the reference and she had left it to him to explain.

 

Darcy had never really thought about swords other than they were cool to look at in the movies, but apparently there was a lot more to sword fighting than just stabbing someone with the pointy end.

 

Oh no, there were all kinds of rules and techniques, and lest she forget about her ‘core training.’  If she never heard the word core again it would be too soon. Apparently Darcy didn’t have much to her core and getting it up to fighting levels was a painful process.  Yeah, so now she had abs and her arms looked amazing but she was never, ever going to admit it out loud.

 

For all that he was pretty, _James_ , was a snarky little shit who absolutely took pleasure in watching her fall on her ass.

 

Okay, that wasn't fair.  She didn’t think he took pleasure in it, but he definitely had a smart ass comment on the ready when she was about to give up.  And maybe that was the whole point, she couldn’t get a read on him, they kind of had a love/hate thing going on.

 

Speaking of the devil.

 

‘Good evening Sergeant Barnes.’  Darcy fell in stride with James as he headed towards the river.

 

His eyes cut over to her and she counted it a victory that his lips almost quirked into a smile.

 

‘Darcy.’

 

Ah, so it was going to be a quiet evening.  Some days he was chatty and snarky and had smiles to spare.  Some days, today apparently, he was a little lost, a little quiet.  It tugged at everything in her. She knew that he had been through like the worst hell imaginable and now he was here in Orange-land and there was nothing she could really do to make it better, but she was damn sure going to try.

  


* * *

 

 

‘You make it better.’

 

Darcy had almost been asleep, curled up against James, her face pressed against his chest she had felt the words as she had heard them.  

 

Snarky training had turned into long walks (before a lunch that they didn't have) and hours sitting side by side on the front step of her hut (after what would have been dinner) and finally soft kisses (thru what would have been brunch).

 

They might have taken their time or they might have moved at the speed of light, Darcy had still not had a handle on how time moved.  What she did know was somewhere between snark and lunch she had made a friend who had turned into a good friend by dinner and whom she had fallen in love with by brunch.

 

Her place had become their place.  His burdens had grown lighter since he had started trusting her to help him carry them.  

 

Not surprised by the revelation she pressed a kiss to the warm, bare skin under her lips, it was still nice to hear though.  Smiling up at him she was still getting used to the smooth face and short hair but oh my she didn't mind the change one bit. She might have had a few choice words for him, hiding that beautiful face under all that hair, his ensuing blush had been a treat.  

 

Pressing her thumb into the honest to goodness dimple in his chin she slid her leg over his, they were rarely out of physical contact in some way when in each others proximity.  

 

But she digressed.  His non sequitur was as important as her mumbled I love you.

 

‘Do I?’

 

He nodded eyes not leaving hers.

 

‘I'm glad James.’  She had told him during one of their rare fights that she hadn't wanted anything from him, not promises he couldn't make or assurances he couldn't guarantee.  All she had wanted was to make some part of his life better.

 

The tears snuck up her throat and she blinked rapidly, his look softened and he cupped her cheek.  

 

‘I love you Darcy Lewis.’

 

Oh this man.

 

Pushing herself up until she could kiss him, until she could straddle him, until she could guide his cock inside her, until her cunt tightened in pleasure, until she didn't know where he ended and she began.  

 

This was all coming to an end.

 

Whatever had brought them all here, whatever hold it had over them was loosening its grip.  The magicks had felt it first but even the most grounded folk (Sam everyone always meant Sam) could feel the change.  

 

What had been their world for an indeterminate amount of time was [(changing, dying, releasing) depending on who you were listening to at any given time] not going to be home much longer.  

 

Darcy was terrified of what was coming.  Not of what _was coming_ she had lived through dying she was pretty sure she could die again and be okay with it.  No, what she feared was facing whatever came alone. The thought of fighting without her newfound family, of not knowing they were ok, or worse that they went somewhere she couldn't follow kept her from the sleep that used to come so easy.

 

Thinking of James fighting of James alone of James back in a place that hurt gutted her.  He had whispered to her once that he never wanted to leave, that he didn't want to go back, to risk losing her to what had once been a newly patched up mind.  None of her reassurances had eased his fear and none of the promises she had made were ones she had any right to make.

 

So they had tucked away into her little hut.  Passing away more hours than were probably decent, naked and exploring, sharing skin and secrets. As much as she loved her extended family, they made sure to check in at least once a day, they were unapologetic about their selfishness.  

 

Laughing as he rolled them without warning.  Her thighs opened to cradle him, hands sliding up the arms that braced on either side of her shoulders.

 

‘I love you more James Barnes.’

 

He grinned down at her, ‘Not possible doll.’

 

She was more than happy to argue the point, at least until this world ended, they could pick up the issue in the next one.  Darcy didn't know what was coming but she knew with all that she was that no matter what world or realm or existence she was in she would love this man.  

 

So she told him just that, one promise she knew she would keep.  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
